Cutting board holder

ABSTRACT

A cutting board kit having a cutting board holder capable of securely receiving two or more cutting boards. The cutting boards may be designated for use with specific classes of food products.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a holder for securely holding two ormore cutting boards wherein the cutting boards held are all visiblewithin the holder and may be designated for use with specific classes offood products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Preparation of food items often requires a preparation step in which afood item is cut using a knife or other sharpened kitchen tool. Thepreparation step may involve cutting a serving portion from a largerportion of a food item, such as a slice of cooked meat product. Thepreparation step may alternatively involve preparation of multiplesmaller size pieces from a food item, such as a vegetable, by anoperation such as chopping, dicing, or slicing.

These steps may be carried out on a counter top or other flat permanentsurface in a kitchen or other food preparation area. These steps mayalso be carried out on flat temporary surfaces referred to as cuttingboards. The use of cutting boards allows for the cutting, chopping, etc.to be accomplished in many areas of the kitchen while protectingpermanent surfaces from disfiguration from cutting tools or from fluidsreleased from a food item during the processing step. The use of thecutting board may also assist in the transfer of the food item to acooking vessel. Finally, cutting boards are susceptible of beingcleansed in a dishwasher allowing for convenience in cleaning after foodpreparation and potentially reducing risk from microbial hazards.

Despite their convenience, cutting boards may present a health risk ifnot properly cared for and cleansed. Raw produce may present variousbacterial pathogens such as Shigella sp., E. coli sp. (including E. coli0157H7), Salmonella sp. and viral pathogens such as Hepatitis A. Thelevels of these pathogens on produce can often be reduced to a levelthat will not affect most individuals by rinsing affected produce withfresh water shortly before serving. However, residual amounts ofpathogen may be transferred to a surface where produce is placed in thefood preparation process such as a cutting board. Proper cleansing ofthe surface can prevent any pathogen so deposited from contaminatingother foods.

In the case where surfaces are not cleansed properly, pathogens may betransferred to other foods that are prepared on the same surface. Thiscross contamination of foods is particularly an issue where the foodthat is contaminated is stored in a way that allows the pathogen in thecontaminated food to multiply to the point where it can cause illness ina person consuming the contaminated food.

Raw meat and processed meat products may present bacterial pathogenssuch as E. coli (including E. coli O157:H7), Salmonella sp.,Campylobacter jejuni and Listeria monocytogenes. Careful preparation ofraw meat and processed meat products can prevent these potentialpathogens from causing illness as a result of eating the meat or meatproduct. However, it is important that cutting boards used inpreparation of meat and meat products be cleansed properly between usesto prevent cross contamination of food products, thereby furtherreducing the risk of food-borne illness. It is especially important thatpathogens present in meat products that would be killed or inactivatedduring normal cooking not be transferred to foods that are raw oralready cooked.

To prevent this transfer, health authorities, food companies and othersrecommend having cutting boards dedicated for use with certain types offood products during food preparation. For example, in a kitchen a cookmay prepare vegetables, breads, fruits and meats for one meal therebyrequiring up to four different cutting boards in the course of preparinga meal. Increasingly, health authorities and food companies alsorecommend that cutting boards be permanently dedicated to one food typeor at the very least food preparers should ensure that a cutting boardused to for preparation of raw and processed meats only be used for suchfoodstuffs.

It would therefore be useful to have a cutting board kit for storage ofmultiple cutting boards. It would also be useful to have the variousdedicated cutting boards permanently labeled to ensure consistent use byall personnel using the same kitchen facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cutting board kit having a cuttingboard holder capable of securely holding two or more cutting boardswithin. The cutting board holder may secure the cutting boards about theperimeter of the cutting boards and may partially or wholly enclose thecutting boards. The cutting boards may be labeled (for example,“Vegetable”, “Produce”, “Meat”, “Bread”, “Fruit” and the like) to ensureconsistent usage by multiple users of the cutting boards. The boards mayarranged to allow for selective storage and removal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cutting board kit of the inventionwith a cutting board holder securing four cutting boards in close planarproximity and with a latch on the holder in an open position allowingselective removal of one or more of the cutting boards.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the cutting board kit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cutting board kit of FIG. 1 with thelatch in the closed position securing the cutting boards in place.

FIG. 4 is a cutout from FIG. 3 showing the individually labeled cuttingboards held within the cutting board holder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The cutting board kit of the invention includes a receiver capable ofsecurely holding two or more cutting boards. Such secure holding allowsa user to transport the cutting boards held therein as a single unit.The cutting boards are also held together as a single unit therebyallowing ease of location of cutting boards stored therein. The cuttingboards may be removed from the receiver at the time desired by the user.

The receiver may include a frame with a distal wall and side wallsattached to the distal wall. The side walls may include grooves toaccept sides of the cutting boards and hold the cutting boards in astorage configuration until retrieved by a user of the kit. There may bedisposed with the grooves one or more structures to secure the cuttingboards in the receiver. These structures may include a ridge extendingin a direction substantially perpendicular or perpendicular to thegrooves, a rigid protrusion which may be formed during the fabricationprocess or a deformable protrusion which may be a malleable or amoveable structure, such as a spring loaded protrusion.

The receiver may also have a generally planar bottom surface with areceiving wall capable of contacting each of the cutting boards heldwithin the receiver along three sides of each cutting board. Thereceiving wall may include two side walls attached perpendicular to thebottom surface, the side walls having proximal and distal ends, a distalwall attached at an obtuse angle to the bottom surface and attached tothe distal ends of the two side walls. The bottom surface may have oneor more ridges extending upwardly therefrom and running in parallel tothe side walls. The one or more ridges may contact one of the cuttingboards stored within the receiver. The bottom surface may also have atab or extension, optionally defining a hole through the bottom surface,that may act as a handle or facilitate storage by hanging the cuttingboard kit when not in use.

The receiver may include a latch attached to the receiving wall or theframe. The latch may be capable of moving from a closed position inwhich the latch is capable of securing the cutting boards in the holderto an open position allowing a user to remove or replace one or morecutting boards in the holder. The latch may be pivotably attached to theside walls at or near the proximal ends of the side walls. The latch maycover at least some portion of one of the cutting boards held within thereceiver when the latch is in the closed position. The latch may includeprotrusions capable of contacting and further securing one or morecutting boards in the holder. The latch may be secured in the closedposition to prevent unintended exit of cutting boards from the receiver.

The cutting board kit of the invention includes two or more cuttingboards. In some cases it may be useful to have a receiver capable ofstoring three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten cutting boardsat once. The cutting boards may be of any shape susceptible of beingheld securely within a frame. The cutting boards may be rectangular andof virtually any dimension as may be convenient in food preparation. Thecutting boards in any one kit may have the same dimensions or may varyslightly. In one embodiment, the distal wall of the receiver is attachedat an obtuse angle with respect to the bottom surface so that cuttingboards with the same length may be inserted to varying degrees thusallowing the cutting boards to present an offset configuration wheninserted into the receiver. In another embodiment, cutting boards ofrectangular shape have the same width, but vary slightly in length thusallowing the cutting boards to present an offset configuration wheninserted the same distance into the receiver. The offset allows the userto easily determine which cutting boards are present in the receiver andfurther allows for selective removal of one cutting board without theneed for disturbing the other cutting boards in their places.

The cutting boards may define a hole at one end of the board. The holemay be configured to allow for gripping or manipulation during removalof the cutting board from the receiver. The hole may also be configuredto allow the user to grasp or secure the cutting board during use. Thehole may also be configured to allow one or more cutting boards storedbelow the cutting board with the hole to be visible when the cuttingboards are held within the receiver.

Cutting boards stored in the present kit may be uniquely identified in away that allows each cutting board to be permanently dedicated for usewith a certain food type. As noted above, permanent dedication of acutting board to preparation of a given foodstuff may decrease risk ofaccidental food contamination by foodborne pathogens. For example, thecutting boards may be individually labeled with words the type offoodstuff which may be prepared on the cutting board (e.g. “Meat”,“Fruit”, “Vegetable”, “Bread”) or labeled with symbols portrayingvarious foodstuffs or uses. Cutting boards may also be manufacturedusing different colors that may be suggestive of the foodstuff to beprepared thereon and that conform to a predetermined code.

Cutting boards may be made of any of number of materials, includingmolded polymers such as polyethylene (including high densitypolyethylene) and acrylics as well as wood, metal, glass or othermaterials. Cutting boards may also have a variety of surfaces andsurface configurations that may be suited to or enhance operations inpreparation of one or more foodstuffs. In the case of meats, produce andother foods in which liquids are emitted by the foodstuff during slicingor other operations, a cutting board may define a cavity on the foodpreparation surface to aid in collection of such liquid and preventingsuch liquid from spilling off of the cutting board.

A user of a cutting board holder according to the present invention mayview two or more cutting boards securably stored within the holder. Theuser may open a latch thus allowing one or more selected cutting boardsto be removed. The user may then remove one or more of the selectedcutting boards and proceed with one or more food processing steps. Uponcompletion of the food processing steps or after food preparation iscomplete, the cutting boards may be cleansed in accordance with theiruse. For example, a cutting board used to slice bread may need only tobe washed lightly with a moistened towel while a cutting board used inpreparation of raw meat may be thoroughly cleansed in a dishwasher. Uponcompletion of the cleansing step, the one or cutting boards may bereturned to the holder and securably stored once again in the holder byclosing the latch.

Further understanding of the present invention may be gained byreference to the enclosed figures. FIG. 1 shows a cutting board kit ofthe invention (10) with four cutting boards (22, 24, 26, 28) insertedinto a receiver (12). Receiver (12) comprises rectangular bottom surface(32) and walls (14, 16). Peripheral walls (14) are generally parallel toeach other and contact the periphery of bottom surface (32) along mostof the length of the long sides. Distal wall (16) is contiguous withdistal ends of peripherals walls (14) and with distal end of bottomsurface (32). Cutting boards (22, 24, 26, 28) are shown inserted betweenperipheral walls (14) and also in contact with distal wall. Latch (18)is capable of moving from an open position to a closed position. Latch(18) is shown in an open position in FIG. 1 that allows insertion orremoval of cutting boards (22, 24, 26, 28) into or from receiver (12).Protrusions (20) are present on latch (18) and contact one or morecutting boards when latch (18) is in the closed position to preventmovement by the cutting boards within the receiver. Cutting boards (22,24, 26, 28) may define a cavity bounded by a peripheral wall (30) inwhich liquids, crumbs and small portions of food stuffs are retainedduring use of the cutting board. Variations in the shape of the cavity,the depth of the cavity.

FIG. 2 shows the cutting board kit (10) of FIG. 1 in a side view withlatch (18) in an open position. Distal wall (16) is attached to bottomsurface (32) at an obtuse angle, allowing cutting boards of the samelength to be presented in a manner allowing selective removal of any ofthe cutting boards (22, 24, 26, 28) when latch (18) is in the openposition. Handle (34) is an extension or tab extending from bottomsurface (32) and defines a hole therethrough.

FIG. 3 shows the cutting board kit of FIG. 1 in a top view with latch(18) in a closed position. In the present embodiment, latch (18) in theclosed position engages cutting board (22) to prevent movement thereof.

FIG. 4 shows a cutout view of FIG. 3 showing word labels on four cuttingboards (22, 24, 26, 28) and showing one way in which a portion of eachof the cutting boards is visible when the cutting boards are disposed inthe receiver and the latch is in the closed position. In thisembodiment, each cutting board defines a hole through which the cuttingboard underneath is visible. Numerous variations on the shape andplacement of the hole are possible while still accomplishing thefunction of allowing the user to easily determine which cutting boardsare still held in the receiver, even when the latch is in the closedposition.

1. A cutting board kit, comprising: a cutting board holder, the holdercomprising a receiver capable of securely storing two or more cuttingboards in close proximity, the receiver comprising a frame adapted toreceive the two or more cutting boards and the frame further comprisinga distal wall having first and second ends, a first side wall attachedto the first end and a second side wall attached to the second end andwherein the side walls define grooves for accepting side edges of thetwo or more cutting boards; two or more cutting boards secured withinthe holder wherein each of the cutting boards comprises an identifierpermanently designating each cutting board for use with a specific typeof food product; and a latch, the latch pivotably attached to the firstside wall and to the second side wall and the latch capable of movingfrom a closed position in which the latch is capable of securing thecutting boards in the receiver to an open position allowing a user toremove or replace one or more cutting boards in the receiver.
 2. Thecutting board kit of claim 1, wherein the latch comprises one or moreprotrusions capable of contacting and securing one or more cuttingboards in the receiver.
 3. The cutting board kit of claim 2, wherein aportion of each of the cutting boards is visible when the cutting boardsare secured in the receiver.
 4. A cutting board kit, the kit comprising:two or more generally planar cutting boards; a cutting board holdercomprising a receiver, the receiver having a generally planar bottomsurface and a receiving wall attached to the generally planar bottomsurface and capable of contacting each of the cutting boards along threesides of each cutting board; and a latch pivotably attached to thereceiving wall and capable of moving from an open position wherein thegenerally planar cutting boards can be removed from or inserted into thereceiver and a closed position in which the latch contacts a fourth sideof each of the cutting boards and prevents removal of cutting boardsfrom the receiver or insertion of cutting boards into the receiver. 5.The cutting board kit of claim 4, wherein the cutting board kitcomprises three generally planar cutting boards.
 6. The cutting boardkit of claim 5, wherein the cuffing board kit comprises four generallyplanar cutting boards.
 7. The cutting board kit of claim 6, wherein atleast a portion of each of the cutting boards is visible when thecutting boards are disposed in the receiver and the latch is in theclosed position.
 8. The cutting board kit of claim 7, wherein at leastone cutting board is designated for use in conjunction with a specificfood product and such designation is visible when the cutting board isdisposed in the receiver.
 9. The cutting board kit of claim 6, whereinthe cutting boards are the same size.
 10. The cutting board lit of claim9, wherein the cutting boards are stored in a position offset from oneanother.
 11. The cutting board kit of claim 9, wherein the receivingwall comprises two side walls having proximal and distal ends attachedperpendicular to the bottom surface, wherein a distal wall is attachedat an obtuse angle to the bottom surface and is attached to the distalends of the two side walls, and wherein the latch is connected at theproximal end of each of the two side walls.
 12. The cutting board kit ofclaim 4, wherein at least one of the cutting boards comprises anidentifier permanently designating the at least one cutting board foruse with a specific type of food product.
 13. The cutting board kit ofclaim 12, wherein the at least one cutting board is marked with a symbolor a word indicating the specific type of food product.